Note : It would be a good idea to consult the chapters on ‘Music of the Baroque’ and ‘The Concerto’ in the Study Area before studying these analyses.

Background and Overview
Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos were probably composed between 1713 and 1721 while he was director of music at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, himself a keen musician. A copy of all six concertos was dedicated to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave (i.e. hereditary ruler) of Brandenburg, who had expressed an interest in receiving some music from Bach. The Margrave did not, however, commission them, and Bach did not write them specifically for him.

Each concerto is written for a different instrumental group, including some unusual combinations, pushing the boundaries of this genre. Many of the solo parts are technically very difficult, suggesting that Bach had excellent musicians at his disposal and that he wanted to give them an opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Concerto No.2, for example, includes a very difficult (and high) trumpet part, whilst Concerto No.5 tests the skill of the harpsichordist i.e. Bach himself, and was quite possibly composed to demonstrate a new harpsichord that the Prince had recently purchased. These six pieces are regarded as the supreme examples of the concerto grosso.

Of the 18 movements which make up these concertos, half of them (including all six first movements) are in ritornello form. This was the most popular structure for Baroque concertos, since it provided the perfect opportunity to contrast the soloists (known as the concertino) with the orchestra (or ripieno). The movement opens with a full statement of the ritornello (literally, “little return”) which contains the main material for the movement, and is played by the full ensemble to establish the key and character of the movement; it is repeated several times during the movement, but in different keys, and usually only as a fragment, before returning as a full statement in the tonic at the end. Between each occurrence of the ritornello, the concertino plays a combination of ideas from the ritornello and new material, known as episodes. One of Bach’s many contributions to this form was to integrate the ritornello sections and the episodes, so that fragments of the ritornello are often found accompanying the episodes, or are used as motifs which are then developed to form the material of the episodes.

Analysis

Concerto No.1 in F major (BWV 1046)
Instrumentation: 2 horns, 3 oboes, bassoon, violino piccolo, strings, basso continuo

There is no distinct concertino group in this concerto, but the majority of the material in the episodes is given to the horns, oboes and violino piccolo (a small violin, tuned a minor third higher than a normal violin. It was used by Bach in two other works besides this concerto).

This is the only one of all Bach’s concertos to have four movements rather than the usual three. The first, second and fourth movements probably originated as an introduction to one of his cantatas.

1. [ Allegro ]¹
The first movement is in ritornello form (see ‘Background and Overview’ above). However, it is not a typical Bach ritornello movement, being one of the most tightly organised. (Listeners unfamiliar with the ritornello form might wish to look at the first movement of Concerto No.4 below before studying this movement.) It is based largely on six motifs which are themselves closely related and connected by the use of several smaller units (labelled x, y and z) which are shared between them:

Ex.1-1

As a result of this inter-connectivity, the listener does not readily distinguish the different melodic ideas; instead, the ear is drawn to the elaborate counterpoint and rapid changes of texture as the melodic material passes from horns to oboes to violins and back to horns.

Another unusual feature of this movement is the rhythmic effect (which can be heard clearly in the opening ritornello) created by the triplet quavers in the horns against semiquavers in the other parts.

The opening ritornello is stated completely only at the beginning and at the end. Its appearances in between are often brief and fragmentary (on one occasion, just a bar long). The episodes which intersperse it are inter-related, so that Episodes 4 and 5 are derived from Episode 2, and Episode 6 is largely a transposed version of Episode 3. This contributes further to the tight organisation of the movement as a whole.

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¹Square brackets indicate no tempo marking in the autograph score. Allegro is assumed

2. Adagio
This beautiful slow movement is essentially a duet for oboe and violin (the horns are silent for this movement). The two soloists weave highly decorated melodies over slow-moving chords, often in close imitation or canon, although with the melody passing into the bass instruments from time to time. It recalls both the slow movement of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins (BWV1043) and the Italian Concerto for keyboard (BWV971). The principal key is D minor (the relative minor of F major), but Bach modulates to both G minor and A minor during the course of the movement.

Even modern ears may be surprised by the extreme chromaticism of this movement. This is most evident in the false relations of bars 0:54-1:04, 1:58-2:06 and 2:59-3:10:

Ex.1-2

Equally striking are the chromatic chords which lead into the Phrygian cadence (an imperfect cadence using IVb-V) at the end. The movement proper concludes with the perfect cadence at 3:32, but is followed by four bars which were designed to lead into the third movement. This was a device commonly used by Corelli and his contemporaries at the end of slow movements, but here Bach gives it an added twist of poignancy.

3. Allegro
This movement is one of several in the Brandenburg Concertos in which Bach combines two forms together, in this instance ritornello and da capo or ternary form. It is a dance-like movement very characteristic of Bach, and with almost constant semiquaver movement not unlike a moto perpetuo. Most of the material used can be found in the ritornello section, but Bach introduces new material to the episodes that make up the middle section.

Two Adagio bars (82-83, 2:43) preface the return of the A section, which differs in the order in which the material is presented, and in the use of the tonic rather than the dominant. Whether by design or accident, this movement shows many of the features of sonata form which was to become the principal vehicle for instrumental composers for the remainder of the eighteenth century.

4. Menuet - Trio I - Polonnaise - Trio II
This final movement is very unusual: it is the only example of a specifically named dance movement in the Brandenburg Concertos, and its design, in which each section is scored for different instruments, is also unique. The opening Menuet is repeated after each of the other sections, and is therefore heard four times in all (the repeats of this section are sometimes omitted). The complete structure is therefore:

The horn parts would have been difficult to play on the natural horns (i.e. without valves) of Bach’s time. The fact that this is the only one of the six concertos which features horns suggests that Bach may have had two particularly good players who would have enjoyed the chance to demonstrate their prowess in this finale.

Concerto No.2 in F major (BWV 1047)
Instrumentation: trumpet, recorder, oboe, violin, strings, basso continuo

In the first Brandenburg Concerto, the distinction between the concertino and ripieno was blurred; in the second concerto it is very clear. There are four solo instruments, each of which has a very distinct tone colour: trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin. This unique combination of sounds reveals Bach as an innovator who was keen to experiment, and makes this one of the most memorable of these concertos.

The trumpet of Bach’s day would have been the trumpet in F, a smaller instrument with no valves which was pitched a perfect fourth above C. It would have been much less loud than today’s trumpets, and therefore would have balanced well with the other soloists Bach chooses.

1. [ Allegro ]¹
This movement is usually identified as a ritornello form movement. However, Bach integrates the ritornellos and episodes so completely that it is almost entirely without the usual division into solo and tutti sections, making it difficult to justify this description. The opening eight bars do provide much of the material that follows, but there is no proper repeat of this opening section, except in sections of a few bars at a time. Instead, Bach takes the motifs and passes them between his four soloists and the tutti almost as if they are balls being passed around a circle, while occasionally throwing in an excerpt from the ritornello. The effect is of a kaleidoscopic whirl of sound, colour and texture, where the only points of reference are the cadences which occur from time to time.

The overall structure is best understood in terms of these cadences and the keys in which they occur. The opening ritornello consists of three distinct musical ideas, or motifs, each lasting two bars, followed by a two bar approach to the perfect cadence. The first episode then launches the main solo motif:

Ex.2-1

2. Andante
The slow movement provides a contrast with the outer movements in every sense. It is in the relative minor (D minor), is scored without the ripieno strings or the trumpet (partially, one senses, in order to give the player a well-earned rest) and is gentle and serene.

Bach is even more economic with his musical material than in the first movement, deriving it all from the first four bars of the violin part:

Ex.2-2

The whole movement then consists of interplay between violin, oboe and recorder over a continuous bass line of arpeggio-like quavers which pause only at the cadences. As in the first movement, these cadences define the structure, which otherwise has no specific form:

The final four bars include a highly chromatic approach to the final cadence, as well as a hemiola.

3. Allegro assai
The opening of the third movement is as striking as that of the first. The trumpet, silent during the calm Andante, wakes us from our reverie with a dramatic ‘call to arms’, high up in its register and accompanied only by continuo. The other soloists follow in turn to set up another movement in which the combination of instrumental colours and interplay between them is more important than the underlying structure.

In fact, this movement is best described as a fugue with ritornello elements. The soloists have almost all the melodic material; the ripieno strings do not enter until the end of the exposition (0:56) and their only function is to add colour to the ensemble at the cadences.

The fugal exposition follows the standard procedure, with each solo instrument playing either the subject or the answer in turn, followed by two regular counter-subjects. These first coincide at 0:26

Ex.2-3

All four instruments join for the first time at 0:49 (which includes a redundant entry in the trumpet), followed by the entry of the ripieno strings at 0:56. The section from here to the end of the exposition (0:56-1:07) is the first of four tutti sections, of which the last draws on material from the others: this is the only element which can be said to be borrowed from ritornello form.

The structure of the movement as a whole is:

Concerto No.3 in G major (BWV 1048)
Instrumentation: 3 violins, 3 violas, 3 cellos, basso continuo

This concerto is unusual in being scored for solo strings only, with three each of violins, violas and cellos, supported by continuo. Like the Sixth Concerto (also for strings alone), there is no separate concertino group, the solo instruments also providing the tutti.

1. [ Allegro ]¹
This movement is similar in its formal design to the first movement of Concerto No.1 (see above): although both can reasonably be said to be in ritornello form, Bach integrates the ritornelli and the episodes so closely, borrowing material from each for the other, and including fragments of both, that the distinction between the two is blurred. The lack of distinct concertino and ripieno groups adds further to this integration.

As with most of Bach’s ritornello movements, the opening 25 seconds provides the bulk of the melodic material for the remainder of the movement. Smaller sections or motifs (for example, those labelled a and b below) are extracted to form the basis of the episodes, and the opening three notes on the violins (labelled x below) permeate the whole movement.

Ex.3-1a

The ritornello treats the three instruments of each type as a section, resulting in a three-part texture. The episodes, however, vary the scoring with each of the three sections sometimes playing together, sometimes as three soloists, with up to nine separate parts (for example, 2:47). Sometimes, a solo instrument will detach itself from the ensemble (e.g. the 1st violin at 2:04), or melodic ideas will be passed from instrument to instrument - note particularly the passage from 4:39, where the motif descends all the way down from 2nd violin to cellos.

Two other passages are of particular note in this movement. The first is at 3:22 where, following a cadence in B minor (the relative minor), the listener would expect a return of the ritornello section. Bach provides the expected recapitulation, but only the melody line (in the second violin), accompanied by a quaver bass, and set against a new melody in longer note values (which is itself derived from the opening material). The first and second violins then share a few bars of two-part counterpoint, leading into the second interesting passage. This is the tutti from 3:46: under reiterated chords in the upper strings, the bass line descends through the circle of fifths, weaving a chromatic web that could only have been written by J.S. Bach:

Ex.3-1b

2. Adagio
The slow movement of this concerto consists (on paper at least) of only two chords. There is no indication of what Bach intended here, but is customary to improvise a short cadenza-like passage before (or over the top of) the chords, usually on the violin. The chords form a Phrygian cadence (IVb - V, here in E minor), which was often used at the conclusion of a slow movement as a way of introducing the finale (for an example, see Concerto No.4, below).

3. Allegro
The last movement is not a ritornello, but an extended binary form dance, a form sometimes used by Vivaldi for the final movements of concertos, but not often by Bach. It is in the style of a gigue (as are the finales of Concertos 5 and 6), and is remarkable for the almost continuous semiquaver scales that permeate almost every bar. The overall structure is:

Concerto No.4 in G major (BWV 1049)
Instrumentation: solo violin, 2 flutes à bec, strings, basso continuo

The concertino group of violin and two flutes is set against a ripieno string orchestra, with the continuo playing throughout. The violin part is more virtuosic than the flute parts, which were probably intended for recorders.

1. Allegro
This fast opening movement is (in common with much of Bach’s music) in a dance metre (3/8), which is reinforced by constant movement in quavers and semiquavers, making the music almost relentless. Its cheerful, almost sunny mood disguises a clever structure and almost complete absence of actual melody, the effect being achieved through changes of texture and key, motivic repetition, and rhythmic ingenuity.

The first movement is in ritornello form (see ‘Background and Overview’ above):

The opening ritornello section contains the majority of the material on which the rest of the movement is based. Bach employs five musical ideas, or motifs:

Ex.4-1

Bach indicates the approaching end of each ritornello section with four bars employing syncopation, which has the effect of breaking up the dance-like metre, followed by a perfect cadence (e.g. 1:17).

The first episode features virtuoso figurations by the solo violin, accompanied mainly by just the continuo, but with fragments of one of the ritornello motifs interspersed (e.g. 1:28). After a brief ritornello, now in E minor, the second episode begins with a contrapuntal duet between the solo flutes/recorders, but which are soon joined by the solo violin, now with even more rapid figurations. The first motif (Ex.4-1:a) can be clearly heard in the flutes beneath (3:02).

A feature of the third episode is the use of canon, with short scale passages being repeated between the violins. This, the longest of the episodes, also incorporates several sections from the ritornello (indeed, 4:15 to 4:37 could be regarded as another statement, but lack the syncopated cadence which closes the other appearances). The fourth ritornello (in B minor) runs straight into the final (complete) appearance of the ritornello, now back in the tonic.

2. Andante

The slow movement is in no particular form. Instead, Bach uses an echo effect, with short phrases (often no more than two bars) played by the ripieno and echoed by the concertino. Unusually, Bach writes forte and piano at the appropriate places in the score. Most of the melodic material is based on the pairs of slurred quavers stated at the beginning:

Ex.4-2

The principal key is E minor (the relative minor of G major), but Bach modulates to both A minor and B minor during the course of the movement.

The movement proper ends at 3:22, but is followed immediately by a coda featuring a brief cadenza by the 1st flute, and ending with a Phrygian cadence (an imperfect cadence using IVb-V), decorated by the 1st flute. This leads directly into the final movement.

3. Presto
The finale is an example of Bach’s ability to combine two different forms together - in this case, ritornello and fugue. The opening ritornello (the only occasion on which it is stated completely) also functions like the exposition of a fugue - i.e. the ‘subject’ (or ‘answer’) is stated in each part successively (see Ex.4-3 below), followed by another entry (known as a redundant entry) in the flutes, before a cadence in the tonic.

Ex.4-3

As in the first movement, this opening section then provides the majority of the material for the remainder of the music. Violin figurations again predominate, often over fragments of the ritornello/fugue subject in the flutes and/or ripieno strings.

The coda, with its sudden chromatic chords and rests on the first beat of the bar, followed by two final statements of the ritornello/subject, brings the concerto to a dramatic close.

Concerto No.5 in D major (BWV 1050)
Instrumentation: solo flute, violin, and harpsichord, strings, basso continuo

The concertino group of flute, violin and harpsichord is set against a ripieno string orchestra (but with only one part of violins rather than the usual two). The harpsichord is promoted from its usual function in the continuo to a full solo instrument: Bach wrote the part (for himself to play) to demonstrate a new instrument, and it is so virtuosic that this is almost a harpsichord concerto, with a cadenza that makes up nearly a third of the total length of the first movement.

1. Allegro
This ritornello movement (see ‘Background and Overview’ above) differs structurally from the more conventional ones (such as the first movement of Concerto No.4) in two important ways: first, the ritornello is very short (only 8 bars); and secondly, the returns of the ritornello are often only two bars’ long, resulting in a more integrated form.

However, the use of the ritornello to provide the material for the remainder of the movement is more typical:

Ex.5-1

conc. = concertino
rip. = ripieno

2. Affettuoso
This is another ritornello form, which was unusual for a slow movement. It also uses only the three soloists, the ripieno remaining silent. This may have been to demonstrate the harpsichord’s suitability as a chamber music instrument. It is very much in the manner of one of Bach’s so-called ‘Trio Sonatas’ for organ, with three melodic parts (two treble and one bass) weaving melodic lines in counterpoint, with each taking turns to lead.

In the absence of the ripieno, the ritornello sections are defined by the harpsichord acting as continuo accompaniment, with no melodic material, and by forte indications in the other two instruments, while the episodes are indicated by piano markings, and by melodic material in the right hand of the keyboard part. The sections are all between four and six bars in length, with the exception of the final episode.

The use of the opening idea is less rigid than in the first movement, but Bach still makes the most of his material, using the opening figure (see x below) as a unifying feature, along with the lilting pairs of semiquavers from bars 6 and 7 (y below), both of which also appear in inversion.

Ex.5-2

3. Allegro

This cheerful finale is another dance movement, this time in the style of a gigue (the rhythm should be played as ). The overall form is a da capo, with the first 78 bars (0:00 to 1:17) repeated exactly at the end (from 3:47). However, elements of both ritornello form and fugue can also be seen, making this a very complex movement. The opening ritornello/fugal exposition is for the concertino only (as with the slow movement that precedes it), Bach delaying the entry of the ripieno until 0:29

Ex.5-3

A particular feature of this movement is the use of stretto, in which the entries of the fugue subject overlap (e.g. at 0:39).

Concerto No.6 in B flat major (BWV 1051)
Instrumentation: 2 viola da bracchio, 2 viola da gamba, cello, basso continuo

The scoring of this concerto is unusual in the extreme. Bach chooses to avoid the usual solo instruments in favour of two violas (called viola da bracchio to distinguish them from the viola da gamba, or bass viol) which, together with the cello, are given the majority of the solo material. As in Concerto No.3, there is no separate concertino group, since the solo instruments also act as the tutti.

1. [ Allegro ]¹
This ritornello form movement (see ‘Background and Overview’ above) is unusual in that the melodic material for the movement is provided not by the ritornello itself, but by the first episode. The ritornello sections are essentially arpeggios over a slowly changing chord progression, in which the two violas play a strict and very close canon (an impressive compositional exercise in itself), thus providing a punctuation to the episodes. However, as with many of Bach’s other ritornello movements, there is frequent overlap between the sections, with elements of the ritornello frequently present in the episodes.

Bach employs four main motifs, as indicated below, each of which is developed and extended within the episodes:

Ex.6-1

2. Adagio ma non tanto
As in most of the slow movements of the Brandenburg Concertos, Bach reduces the scoring, on this occasion to the two violas, cello and continuo. As in Concerto No.5, the texture is very similar to a Trio Sonata, although this time with (for the most part) only two melodic instruments interweaving over a constantly moving bass. Unusually, it starts and finishes in different keys (e flat major and G minor respectively), and, like Concerto No.4, closes with a Phrygian cadence.

The opening ‘subject’ and its ‘counter-subject’ are stated six times in five different keys, each time with increasingly contrapuntal variations:

3. Allegro
The last movement shares several features with the finale of Concerto No.5: it is a gigue, it combines ritornello and da capo forms, and it conveys a mood of cheerfulness throughout.

A formal analysis does little to convey this mood, since the structure is less important than the material and Bach’s treatment of it. The ritornello theme combines the traditional gigue rhythmic patterns with an extended syncopation which drive the music forward. As is customary, the ritornello section then provides the basic material for the episodes, although in this instance, it is as much harmonic as melodic - for example, Episode 1 borrows fragments of the melody, but (more significantly) is entirely based on the chord progressions from the first eight bars:

Ex.6-3

Fragments of the ritornello appear fleetingly, almost as if Bach is playing with our expectations of the form. Each successive episode moves further away from the ritornello material, and nearer to being in a ‘free fantasia’ style, clearly designed to impress the listeners as much as to delight the players, the rapid passage work and interplay between the violas (and sometimes the cello) leaving both listeners and players almost breathless.